Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Local News


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published Tuesday, January 16, 2007 at 12:00 AM

E-mail article     Print view

"Firemen" to become "firefighters" under bill

Last fall, when Seattle City Councilwomen Sally Clark and Jan Drago were working through the mayor's proposed budget, they stumbled across...

Seattle Times Olympia bureau

OLYMPIA — Last fall, when Seattle City Councilwomen Sally Clark and Jan Drago were working through the mayor's proposed budget, they stumbled across several references to "firemen" and "policemen."

"I thought, 'That seems silly,' " Clark said.

Turns out, it was also contrary to state law, which for nearly a quarter of a century has required that all statutes be written in gender-neutral terms.

Clark and Drago did some checking and found out that several chapters of a state law dealing with local-government pensions still include numerous references to firemen and policemen.

They asked state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles to help get rid of the gender-specific terms.

So Kohl-Welles, a Seattle Democrat, sponsored a 41-page bill that strikes all of the references to the terms fireman and policeman and replaces them with "firefighter" and "police officer."

Wherever there is a reference to "he" or "him," the bill adds "or she" and "or her." And in several places the term "chairman" is changed to "chairperson."

The bill was approved Monday by the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, which Kohl-Welles chairs.

She said that while her legislation could be described as a "little cleanup bill," it means a lot to some people.

Theresa Purtell, a Seattle firefighter who testified before the Senate committee, said that when she started her career nearly three decades ago, people went out of their way to emphasize the "man" in fireman, "as a way of telling me that I shouldn't be there."

"Every time you hear that word — fireman — it's kind of like the foil on the fillings in your mouth ... or the fingernails on the chalkboard," Purtell said.

It's unclear how many gender-specific terms are still buried in the Revised Code of Washington, the compilation of state laws. The code has eight volumes totaling more than 10,000 pages.

advertising

Kyle Thiessen, who heads the state Code Reviser's Office, said the practice for decades has been to simply fix any gender-specific references "as we come across them."

"They certainly don't come up nearly as often as they used to when I started here 18 years ago," Thiessen said.

But he said it's a safe bet that some are still on the books.

"Some sections of the code just haven't been amended in the last 40 years," he said.

Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882 or rthomas@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

NEW - 11:36 PM
DNA, ballistics tie man to cop killing, police say

NEW - 11:28 PM
Greenwood merchants nervous after 3 more arsons

NEW - 10:56 PM
UW to honor war heroes with Medal of Honor shrine

NEW - 10:39 PM
Nicole Brodeur: Praise pours on the water man

NEW - 10:17 PM
Soldier from Whatcom County is killed in Afghanistan

Advertising

Video

Medal of Honor
Bruce Crandall and John "Bud" Hawk of Kitsap County say no one "wins" the Medal of Honor. The two recipients of the medal explain they weren't trying to be heroes - just do their duty.

Pelosi answers questions at Swedish Medical Center
Pelosi speaks at Swedish Medical Center
"Pistol" Pete Ryan
Mourners gather at KeyArena for slain officer's memorial
Procession for slain SPD officer
Election Night: Approve R-71
Election Night: Reject R-71
Election Night: Joe Mallahan
Election Night: Mike McGinn

Marketplace

nwautos

2009's most fuel-efficient sedansnew
Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment

Open Houses

Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 
Advertising